Waiting
by Renee S
Summary: Steph,Joe,and others wait at the hospital for news about Ranger after he's been shot.


These characters belong to JE. She's the genius that makes all the money, not me. I'm only borrowing them for just a second, and I promise to put them all back.

Waiting

I brushed my teeth for the third time and stared at my self in the small bathroom mirror. I looked like hell, but I was sort of clean, thank God Morelli called his sister to bring me a change of clothes. Thanks to Scrog, and his obsession with stunning me, I had gotten rid of my dinner in a most unorthodox manner, and I hadn't smelled so great when I'd gotten to the ER.

I rinsed my mouth, washed off the toothbrush and repacked it in the small travel bag. I took the soiled clothes and stuffed them into the trash. No amount of washing would ever erase the memories. I sucked in a deep breath, grabbed the bag and headed out of the bathroom. Hopefully there would be news about Ranger.

I walked back into the waiting room and looked at the men that lined the walls. All of them dressed in black RangeMan uniform, all with the same expression on their faces. Experience, marked with acceptance; this was part of the job. Blood donors, as Morelli had called them. And he had been right; every man was here in case Ranger needed them. That's why I was here, too, in case he needed me. Of course there were other reasons, but I filed them away. Better to focus on the problem at hand, instead of the one lurking in the shadows.

I glanced over at Julie, quietly sleeping in Tank's arms. She had more survival instincts at ten than I did at thirty. She even handled a gun better than I did. Ranger would be proud. I raised an eyebrow at Tank. He shook his head. No news. Shit.

I walked over to the coffee machine to refill my cup for the third time in thirty minutes when I spotted a vending machine sitting in the far corner of the room. Valium in the shape of a donut. Life was good.

I dug a crumpled dollar out of my jeans and headed toward the machine. I fed the dollar into the opening, punched the coded numbers and waited for my prize to fall. The machine made an eerie clicking sound and I watched in horror as the corner of the wrapper hung on the metal claw. _No, no, no!_

I gently pounded on the outside glass hoping that I could somehow knock it loose. Nothing.

Damn it! All I wanted was a fucking donut and this damn machine couldn't even give me that. I gave it one swift kick. Nothing.

"Fuck!" I growled, as I grabbed the machine and started shaking it with all the frenzy of a madman. Two packs of donuts, three candy bars and a bag of chips lay at the bottom of the tray. Damn skippy!

I walked back to where Morelli was sitting and plopped down in the chair beside him. He raised an eyebrow at me, and said, "You pay for all of that?"

I glared back at him. What? I'd had a bad day. I glanced at the clock on the wall, and let out a deep sigh. He's been in surgery for over an hour.

Morelli sat back and sighed. "You know, Steph. We'd be a lot better off back at home. Tank can call us when he comes out of surgery. There is really no reason for us to hang around here all night."

"No. You can go if you want too. I'm not leaving him." I ripped open the package of donuts and took my first bite. Heaven.

Morelli shrugged his shoulders, sunk down deeper in his chair and closed his eyes, knowing from my tone there was no use arguing with me. The problem was, I'd rather argue. Not arguing left too much time to think, and I so didn't want to go there. I unwrapped one of the candy bars and bit in. Losing myself in all the gooey caramel love, I almost forgot where I was, almost. I looked over at Morelli. He really was a good guy, and I loved him. I'd finally been able to tell him the words. But there was just a small problem. I loved Ranger too, and the enormity of this dilemma was slowly tearing me apart. I chewed on my bottom lip and shook my head. No, I was not going there now. Maybe later, much later, like never.

I felt a strong arm shake my shoulder gently and I looked up.

"Steph, they said we can see him now," Tank said.

I nodded and brushed the donut crumbs off my shirt and stood up. Tank wrapped his arm around my shoulders and looked back at Morelli. "Watch Julie for me?"

Morelli nodded, taking the chair next to the sleeping child. His eyes never leaving mine as I slowly turned to walk away. He grabbed my hand and squeezed, "I'll be here waiting." Yeah, well that was part of the problem; the other part was lying in a hospital bed down the hall.

We followed the nurse through a series of automatic doors until we finally entered an intensive care unit. She motioned to the gowns hanging in a small area at the front of the unit and told us to suit up and wash our hands. We did so quickly, only taking seconds instead of minutes.

Once we were ready, we followed the nurse into one of the small glass-encased rooms. My breath caught as I saw Ranger. He looked pale and was very still. I had never seen him that still, and it scared me. I took the seat next to his bed, and Tank stood beside me.

"You are only allowed to stay for ten minutes. He should be coming around any minute. His vitals are good and he's breathing on his own." The nurse instructed, as she walked out of the room.

I picked up Ranger's hand needing to know that he was alive, needing to feel his warmth.

I watched him as he slept, his long, dark eyelashes fanned out across his cheeks. His breathing was slow but strong. I leaned my head down and brushed my cheek against his hand. Tears fell across his fingers. I was shocked to see that they were mine. He squeezed my hand. Startled, I raised my head and looked straight into his eyes.

"I love you!" I blurted out, not wanting to ever risk him not knowing how I felt. He smiled and let out a long sigh, squeezing my hand once again. Not the reaction I had expected but, hey, he had just been shot.

"Julie?" he whispered

"She's good. She's a special little girl. She reminds me of you," I whispered.

He nodded, once again closing his eyes. Tank tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to his watch. Our ten minutes were up. I stood and leaned over Ranger, brushing his hair back from his face. I kissed him softly and turned to leave. Ranger held onto my hand, pulling me back toward the bed.

"Babe."

"Yeah, Ranger?"

"What I told you earlier about Morelli ..."

I sucked in a breath and asked, "About sleeping with him?"

Ranger nodded.

"Yeah, I remember."

"I still mean what I said." he said, closing his eyes.

I smiled and kissed him again, "I know you do, babe."


End file.
